Supermodels Talk About Aging

Tonight at 9 P.M., About Face: The Supermodels, Then and Now, a documentary featuring some of the biggest names in modeling history—Isabella Rossellini, Beverly Johnson, and Jerry Hall, to name a few—premieres on HBO. The film, by acclaimed portrait photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, covers many problems not unique to the modeling world but enabled by it: Older men taking advantage of young girls, drug abuse, eating disorders, and of course, a fear of aging.

Most women have probably experienced a touch of the latter. But when your face is your meal ticket—and perhaps the root of your self-worth—aging can take on unique meaning. That's something Allure has touched on in our own interviews with models in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. In April, Christie Brinkley, 58, revealed to us that she was repeatedly told that her career would be over when she hit 30: "In modeling, aging is the elephant in the room. I remember everybody saying, 'By the time you're 30, they'll chew you up and spit you out.' So I thought each job was going to be my last." (Fortunately, that wasn't true—for her.) That sentiment is echoed by other models in About Face, though how they responded to aging itself varied.

On the topic of cosmetic surgery, Paulina Porizkova-Ocasek (above, with Greenfield-Sanders), 46, says she believes Botox announces a woman's lack of confidence. That reminded me of an interview I did with her last year for Allure. She talked about trying any promising skin-care product on the market, saying, "You're always hoping for a miracle." That spurred this conversation:

Could that miracle come in a needle? "I'm actually extra against that—for me. I'm not against it for others. If it pleases, you go ahead and do it. Just don't pretend that it was your new day cream that did it."

What do you think looking your age means? "Well, clearly, nothing anymore. Because no one knows what age anybody is. People are running around with these weird hamster cheeks looking like they're 30, but they're ancient."

Her conclusion, though, left us feeling upbeat: Asked for the real anti-aging secrets, she quipped: "SPF, water, and sex. Who doesn't look better after sex?"